


Friendly Persuasuion

by JD_meister



Series: Unconventional Interests [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, a minor appearance from Veronica, oh how the mighty get their asses handed to them, other minor character appearences - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-22 02:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14299134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JD_meister/pseuds/JD_meister
Summary: Recruiting Narcian, or in which Kiran’s idea of persuasion is slightly unconventional.





	1. Well, hello to you too

_“Are you certain about this Kiran? I don’t feel comfortable sending you out there with such a small force to guard you. What if this skirmish isn’t what it seems?”_

_“We’ll be fine Al. I can handle myself, and besides, I don’t personally plan to get involved in the fighting. Our heroes are more than capable of seeing to the enemy.”_

_“As long as you stay clear of any danger, I suppose I can’t stop you. Happy hunting, Kiran.”_

_“See you later Al. I’ll bring home good news.”_

At the crest of a hill, covered in sparse trees and plant life, Kiran searched for her quarry.  
The Order had gotten word that Veronica had somehow conscripted warriors from other realms into her ranks. Whilst that was nothing new in and of itself, these new warriors had been given such power as to actually pose a credible threat to Askr’s success in the field. That was when Kiran and Anna had the idea to target those specific ‘heroes’ themselves and induct them into the Order. Veronica couldn’t use them against Askr if Kiran had them as allies. Hand picking a small team of experienced Heroes, Kiran had gone out into the field of the most recently spotted hero to test her theory.

“Ok, I see the enemy. What’s this Narcian guy supposed to look like?” She peered through a spyglass. At her side, Leon took a folded note from out of his armour and read aloud.

“Let’s see here. Rides a wyvern, dresses in flashy clothes, most likely to be found staring at a mirror-“

“D’you suppose he’s the one decked out in pink despite being stationed in a _green_ forest?” Grinning, she passed the spyglass to Leon.

“Oh my. He’s not even _trying_ to blend in.” He handed it back to Kiran, who resumed her own watch on the enemy. “And this guy’s supposed to be a general? Are you sure our information is right?”

“That’s what the scouts were all saying, but really, are we ones to talk?” Kiran gestured at the both of them – herself in white, navy and gold, Leon in his customary purple.

“Camouflage… doesn’t seem to be our strong suit.”

“Yeah that’s for sure.”

###### 

“Lord Narcian, sir! Enemies spotted across the hills! We believe the Askrian summoner is among them!”

Seated at his makeshift table in a sunnier patch of woodland, Narcian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. _Of course_ an enemy force had to ruin this beautiful day! Ever since he was brought into Embla’s service, he hadn’t had a single day of peace and quiet. At the soldier’s anxious behest, Narcian followed him further along the hills.

The soldier passed him a spyglass and pointed him in the right direction. Of all the things he could have seen, he did not expect to see one figure in white and another in purple, clashing horribly with the shrubbery.

“No wonder you were spotted so easily.” Narcian muttered, more to himself than his attendant.

“Sir? What is your command?” The soldier, some young lad or another Narcian hadn’t bothered to learn the name of, was staring at him so expectantly, so desperately for direction, he might as well have been an idol to the boy’s eyes. That was all well and good, but there was a battle to be had. Infinitely more interesting than one of the countless new bloods Veronica had assigned to his care. 

“Hm? Battle positions, obviously. Get to it!” The nameless soldier nearly dropped his weapon in his haste, scrambling down the hill to inform the rest of the squad.

Well, as much as he may have wanted to, he couldn’t sit in the sun all day, and if someone was so eager for a fight, he was damn well going to give it to them and make them regret ever trying to pick a fight with the Great Narcian!

###### 

Leon and Tiki were the first to make their move – Tiki leading the way along the narrow rocky path, Leon covering from behind with an arrow to the ready. Marth and Titania waited to the rear, far back enough to remain out of sight from the enemy. A lone swordsman at the opposite end of the path noticed Tiki, and, sword raised high, ran yelling straight towards her. Tiki paused and casually pulled out her dragonstone.

“Oh, no you don’t!” There was a flash of bright light. The swordsman tried to slow but it was too late. Where once a girl stood, a dragon now waited. One massive scaled arm coiled, and then with inhuman strength struck out and knocked the swordsman back a sizeable distance. He didn’t get up from the blow. Before the team could advance further, an arrow shot down from the slopes, grazing Tiki and clattering off the stones.

“Idiot! How could you miss?!” Narcian cuffed the archer on the back of the head. He could see even now the enemy pulling back, not daring to advance up the slopes to meet him. Of course, his mighty wyvern Adonis must have intimidated them! They wouldn’t be running for long. That young manakete would make a fine prize, and Veronica had a very tempting reward on offer for anyone who could capture and bring the Askrian summoner to her alive. Oh, this truly was his day!

“Onwards! Don’t let them escape!” On his order, the rest of his men finally moved to action, following him down the slope in pursuit of their new prey. The manakete was lumbering after her ally, who already had stopped to wait for her. The fool! There was room on the battlefield to think only of fighting and the preservation of oneself.

His archer had an arrow set for the beast, but before he could loose it, an arrow from the opponent had pierced his throat with deadly aim. So that had been the enemy’s ploy. Narcian guided his wyvern away from his range. He doubted the man would have been able to hit him, but it didn’t hurt to be careful. 

Their white-cloaked summoner had pulled back further, watching the battle from behind their heroes. They certainly weren’t armoured for the occasion and gripped in their hand a pathetic looking iron sword. A succulent easy picking. But first this mis-matched band of ‘Heroes’ had to be dispatched. His own mages had engaged with that purple archer and a red-headed cavalier. He had thought about taking on the blue-haired boy with the sword, but he had swiftly followed his horse-bound friend.

That just left that curious little manakete; the only thing standing between him and claiming his prize. She had turned once more into her dragon form and was eyeing him warily. Adonis gave a warning snarl. The manakete gave such a loud roar in response that Narcian almost dropped his axe in surprise. Irritating beast! He kicked his wyvern into motion and took to the air, and hefting his axe with both hands, dived straight towards the creature. One clean strike to the head should sort its attitude problem. He swung the blade down-

-and struck bare earth.

For all it’s massive size and earlier sluggishness, the beast was surprisingly swift, moving out the way at the last moment. He wrenched his axe free, but the beast was already moving against him. It was all he could do to get the shaft up in time to catch the wicked set of claws trying to gore into his armour. The two wrestled for control of the weapon. Adonis snapped his jaws and clawed at the other dragon. Narcian was nearly pulled several times from his mount by the sheer strength of his foe. Sensing his master’s distress, Adonis clamped his teeth around the manakete’s leg. An ear-piercing shriek split the air and she rammed against Narcian and his wyvern with her full weight.

Off-balance, Adonis snapped and roared back, and with little regard for how well his master was seated, took off into the air to escape the manakete’s teeth and fiery attack. Shouting and cursing, Narcian hung onto the saddle with all his strength, fighting for control of the reins flapping uselessly in the wind. “Adonis, _please!_ ” The wyvern continued to screech and thrash in the air, before finally crashing down elsewhere in the wood. Narcian tumbled to the ground, his cape tangled around him.

Adonis roared and ran off through the trees, trampling everything in his wake before throwing himself into the air again. “ _No!_ Come back, you stupid -! Rrgh!” In an enraged huff Narcian kicked the nearest branch. It splintered under the force and snapped with a resounding _crack._ He involuntarily winced at the shout from afar that sounded shortly thereafter.

“This way! Spread out and find him! He’s in bright pink, he can’t hide!”

 _Oh, damn those Askrians, what do they want with me!?_ Snatching up his axe, Narcian ran as quickly and quietly as he could through the trees and bushes, looking for the thickest spot of woodland there was. If he could just hide himself somewhere then he might have had a chance at escaping Askr’s clutches. A thick clump of vegetation nestled behind an impressive oak tree took his eye. Yes, that should do perfectly. He tucked himself into it and waited with bated breath. Ten minutes passed, then another five.

He couldn’t see any of his pursuers, nor could he hear them. They _must_ have given up. Narcian stood and leant bodily against the tree and took a moment to fix his hair, all that running had left it falling every which way, and set off at a slower jog back through the woods. If he could just get out of here unnoticed, he might be able to head back to base and gather more men…

###### 

“Where in the hell _is_ everyone?” Disentangling herself from a tree root, Kiran huffed and took stock of the situation. They had dispatched their enemies yes, but their target remained elusive despite his wardrobe. Each of her heroes had taken off in different directions in search of Narcian. Kiran herself had tried to keep up with Titania and Marth, but several tumbles and mishaps with tree roots had left her falling behind until she was by herself with no-one in sight. 

At the very least, there were no miscellaneous enemy soldiers to worry about.

Kiran turned back around, only to find the entire reason any of them were there skidding to a halt a few feet away. _Ah._ Both Kiran and the interloper stood rooted to the spot, both too surprised to move and staring blankly at each other. It must have been that Narcian man she had spied earlier, no-one else had been wearing an outfit so… garish.

A tree branch cracked, and faster than either could think, she darted forward and cracked him on the temple with the butt of Breidablik as he raised his axe to strike.

His momentum carried him forward, headbutting her in the shoulder and flopping to the ground as she stumbled away. Dazed by the strength and sheer speed of her blow, Narcian fumbled around for his dropped axe and found the handle trapped firmly beneath Kiran’s boot. He gaped dumbly at her. 

Kiran didn’t know where her allies where, only this strange man who had most definitely just tried to kill her and was tugging feebly on his axe again. He pushed against her leg. Kiran raised Breidablik and struck him once more on the temple. This time he crumpled backwards onto the ground. He didn’t look as if he would get up again; she nudged him with her boot just to be sure.

“Kiran! There you are!” Titania appeared as if from the void. “Mustn’t run off on your own like that, who knows what could have…” She trailed off when she noticed Narcian unconscious on the ground before them. “Did you do this?”

“I only hit him twice,” Kiran said, examining Breidablik. She sounded almost surprised with herself. “I didn’t think he would go down so easily like that…”

They both stared down at his unmoving form. “…What now?”


	2. On the Right Foot This Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Narcian wakes. Kiran persuades.

“I’m still not convinced about this.”

“Oh, honestly Alphonse, you’re such a worrier!”

“For good reason! What if he had cleaved Kiran in half? What would we have done then?!”

_Alphonse? Who’s Alphonse?_ A sharp pain coursed through Narcian’s throbbing forehead as he struggled to remember what had happened in the forest. There had been a battle yes, that much he could remember, but what of the outcome? He was still alive, so he could not have lost, surely? 

He opened his eyes to find four strangers standing around his bed. A blue haired boy who did not look pleased with him in the slightest; a blonde standing by his side looking apprehensively between him and the others, a redheaded woman still bickering with the boy, and a hooded figure standing at the foot of his bed…

_Hooded? Wait…_

Memory surged back.

_A flash of white. A hooded stranger; an enemy. Both they and Narcian stood rooted to the spot, equally surprised. Moments pass. Each staring at the other. A tree branch snapped elsewhere, and both surged into action. Oh no, no-one is faster than Narcian! he thought, lunging forth and raising his axe to strike. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when- Gold glinted briefly in the corner of his vision. The ground rose up to meet him as pain surged in his head and stars mingled with the forest floor leaves._

_What?_

_Why am I down here? Where is my axe?_

_He found the handle wedged beneath the boot of the interloper. Looking up, he couldn’t see their face; white, gold and shadow had entwined to hide everything but two pinpricks of light in their eyes._

_They raised their weapon again, and everything turned to black as it struck._

“You!” 

Oh, how he could have strangled them! Narcian very nearly leapt from the bed; had it not been for the sharp pain in his head from the sudden movement he might have succeeded too.

“Hey, hey! Take it easy!” The blonde girl pressed a hand to his chest and eased him back down. The boy next to her looked ready to draw his sword and skewer him. Breathing hard and clutching his forehead, Narcian settled for glaring bloody murder at his assailant. It had very little effect on them. They uncrossed their arms.

“I see this isn’t the best time to have disturbed you.” A surprisingly female voice spoke from beneath the hood. “We’ll leave you to your rest Narcian. If you need anything just let me, Kiran, or the healers know.”

With that, the summoner left the room, the rest of her little troop following her.

Alone again, Narcian flopped back onto his pillows and immediately regretted doing so. He grimaced as another stake of pain drove through his head. In reflex he raised a hand to his brow. It felt unusually rough. Narcian prided himself on his smooth skin and flawless complexion; he had never let himself grown a beard even when it was in-fashion with all the court. He reached for the mirror on his bedside. The healers the summoner mentioned had bandaged his head as he slept it appeared. He unravelled it to see the damage. _I swear, if that idiot left a mark on me…_

Narcian never managed to finish that thought. A cross between a strangled yell and cry left his throat and the mirror was thrown across the room. 

### 

That evening Kiran had decided to hang out around Anna’s office. A change of scenery. Getting out and about. A bit of fresher air – not full of paint fume, fresh ink and copious amounts of parchment. Anna’s office smelt the way hands did after handling money. It was a marginal improvement. “Tiki’s getting on well.” Kiran said, awkwardly, after a while. “Lissa said she’ll be back to her usual self in a day or two.” 

“Good to hear. From the sounds of it, she more than pulled her weight that fight.” 

“Oh yes, she did wonderfully. I don’t think the mission would have gone nearly so well without her.” She edged closer to the open window. A fresh breeze tried to breach the room and almost succeeded. 

“So tell me, what’s the thoughts on this Narcian?” 

Kiran retracted her head from out the window and hummed as she thought. “Hm. He has a much deeper voice than I imagined he’d have. With all that I had heard ‘bout him, I thought it’d be a lot higher and whinier to be honest, like an irritating spoilt little kid or something, but no. Deep voice. Very deep.” 

Anna paused midway through her report. That wasn’t quite what she had been meaning. She had expected something along the lines of _‘I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of his axe’_ or _‘He’s a skilled wyvern rider for sure, we should make use of that’_. 

“Sounds like you’ve been imagining him a great deal.” 

“Hh? Well yeah, how else was I going to form a plan of attack for bringing him here? All plans need a bit of imagination Commander, or how else are they gonna work?” 

“No, what I meant was-“ 

Kiran tilted her head quizzically at her. 

“N-nevermind.” Anna still wasn’t fully able to tell when Kiran was intentionally playing with her or genuinely misunderstanding. 

“Now that we’ve actually got one of Veronica’s “Heroes” now, what are we going to do to convince him to join us? We can’t keep him prisoner indefinitely.” They actually probably could have, but Anna had a suspicion that Alphonse and Sharena would have objected to that proposal. Just like Alphonse had also objected to the recruitment idea. Some people just couldn’t be pleased. 

“I’m gonna give him a few more days to rest up first, and then I’ll speak to him about joining the Order.” 

"And if that doesn’t work?” 

Kiran thumbed through a book. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” 

### 

Narcian examined the bump on his forehead for the umpteenth time that day. The swelling had largely subsided over the past few days, to his vast relief, yet a great deal of ugly bruising still marred his beautiful complexion. Praise the lord none of his old allies from home could see him now. He could practically feel their mockery, what stinging jibes they would make at his expense. Curse that woman for striking him so! 

“Excuse me?” 

Speak of the devil. That hooded woman, the one who had called herself Kiran, was standing in the doorway, hands clasped behind her back. 

“Good afternoon General, how are we today?” 

He could see her smiling beneath that hood, though her eyes were still in shadow. He made a non-committal noise, not wanting to waste words on her. 

“I see. Has the medicine been leaving a foul taste in your mouth? I could see ‘bout acquiring something sweeter for you.” She rubbed her chin and mumbled to herself, approaching his bedside. “I’m sure I could bribe Gaius to relinquish some of his stash.” 

“What business have you with me?” He said sharply, irked by her muttering. 

“Just coming ‘round to check on you. How are you getting on here? Feeling better?” 

“I don’t see why I have to rest in a shared ward. A private room is more befitting my station.” 

Kiran glanced around. The only other occupant was Cain, and he was at the other side of the room and being attended to by Lucius. He was not being obnoxiously loud for once, or disruptive in any sense of the word that Kiran knew. Hardly reason to start giving people their own rooms. 

“Well, given that your station is still technically our prisoner, I don’t think you get much say in the matter. There is a simple way to fix this… situation, however, if I can interest you in such a thing.” 

“Ohh?” Narcian drawled. “Do enlighten me.” 

Kiran took a seat at his bedside. “As I understand it, that Veronica girl had you bound under some kind of contract or another, making you fight for her cause, right?” 

“That would be correct.” 

“Well, since we defeated you and your forces in battle, that contract would be null and void now, yeah?” 

“I believe so. What point do you eventually intend to make?” 

Kiran sighed and pulled her hood back, the afternoon sunlight finally illuminating her face. Narcian hadn’t been sure what to expect. She looked younger than him by a few years, yet older than the royal brats she accompanied the day they all spoke with him. Dark hair; cut short and boyish. Tired blue eyes. Decidedly average. Nothing special in the slightest… 

Except…. 

She had been the one to defeat him, in close combat no less and with a “weapon” that looked like it should be centrepiece in an artisan’s workshop. 

“My point is I would like to recruit you into the Order of Heroes.” 

Oh? Narcian gave a short laugh of derision. “You make such absurd requests of the Great Narcian! What you ask-“ 

“Did Veronica ‘ask’ you when she plucked you from wherever you came from?” Kiran cut in sharply. “Were you given a choice before being made to fight in a war that had nothing to do with you?” 

“N-no, but what makes you any different from her?” 

“Veronica _made_ you fight for her. I am asking if you would fight _with_ us. If you don’t, I could see about having you returned to whatever realm you came from, but I can’t promise Veronica won’t just snatch you back up again. A girl like her she’ll very probably try. The choice is entirely yours Narcian.” 

Oh, she said it was his, of course she said so. But Narcian knew it wasn’t _really_ his. He could quite happily go home, return to his post at Bern and then be promptly scooped back up by Embla just as Kiran said, only he imagined they would keep a much tighter rein on him this time. 

Well, he wasn’t just some common soldier that could be ordered to and fro. Veronica wasn’t even a queen! Just some foreign princess who couldn’t recognise true greatness when it was stood right in front of her. Who did she think she was that she could use him for her own plots and schemes? Ridiculous girl! King Zephiel was his monarch and only he- 

“I can give you some time to think about it.” 

Narcian hadn’t realised Kiran had been waiting on his answer. It didn’t even occur to him that it was an actual question, and she left before he could form a proper response. Did he want to join this Order? It couldn’t be worse than serving Embla. He settled down into his bed and thought some more about it. Such a decision couldn’t be taken too lightly now. Who knew how long this war would last? 

### 

“Well? How did it go?” Anna asked when Kiran found her some time later. 

“I asked him. He wasn’t sure, so I gave him some time to think about it.” 

“As long as he doesn’t take too long to come to a decision. There is a war on after all, we can’t wait on him forever.” 

They spoke briefly before Anna carried on to whatever meeting or discussion she was going to. Kiran remained, lingering in the empty hall. She found herself reminded of when she herself was summoned to Askr. _Wish I could have had some time to think about it._

### 

Swords and shields clashed together in a noisy din in the training yards below. The sun shone and glinted brightly off armours of various realms, a mismatched gathering of so many colours it could hurt the eyes. Narcian watched from one of the castle balconies, no longer bed bound and quite eager to be away from the healers. The day he was mobile a guard had been assigned to him, no doubt to stop him from running off or stealing a weapon. His armour and weapons had not been returned to him yet – he doubted he would see them again until he had spoken to Kiran of his decision. 

“Narcian.” Speaking of which… 

“Summoner.” 

She joined him at his spot on the balcony overlooking the training. 

“I like to come here and watch them train. They’re a good bunch, and they teach each other too. There’s a lot to be learned from heroes of other realms.” 

“Mm.” Power was power, no matter where it came from, and here he could see it in spades. Narcian could also spy a few familiar faces, _enemy_ faces, from his home realm. He would have to stay clear of them, at least until he regained his full strength. “I believe you mentioned there would be room for advancement here too, yes?” 

“Oh, uh, y-yes, yeah there will be. Is be?” Kiran cleared her throat. “I mean, of course! Commander Anna and I are always keeping our eyes open for heroes of particular talent and skill to lead our teams into battle. Once we get the real measure of your skills there could be room for you on that list too. Not to mention that we can help you improve your strength beyond what you might think possible.” 

Captain of his own squad? Not even half as glorious as Wyvern General in the Bernese army, but since this wasn’t Bern and his king was nowhere to be found… Perhaps this venture in Askr could prove useful after all. There was power to be had, and if this offer of strength was to be believed… Well, it could prove an exceedingly bountiful venture indeed. He turned to face her. 

“Very well. You desire the mighty Narcian to lead the way to victory? Consider my services yours for the duration of this war.” 

She looked almost surprised at him, then a broad smile took over. “I couldn’t ask for more than that. I look forward to working with you Narcian." 

Kiran extended a gloved hand to him. Narcian took it and shook on their deal. 

### 

Commander Anna was carefully stacking coins on top of each other when the door to her office burst open violently. She clawed the gold close to her chest and shot a burning glare at the doorway. 

“Anna, you owe me money! We have a new wyvern rider!” Whilst that certainly was good news, there was surely no need for Kiran to try and break the door hinges in her excitement. Her hood was down for once and a lopsided grin stretched her face. 

“Oh? Sweettalked that Narcian fellow into the Order, have you?” Anna laughed, shuffling some of the gold into a coin purse and tossing it to Kiran. The commander didn’t like to concede gold, but a bet won was a bet won, and she knew how it felt to not receive winnings won fairly. The last time someone tried to short-change Anna, an axe and some _gentle_ persuasion had to be employed. 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, I’d like to see you work your charms on the next one we pick up off the field.” Kiran took the seat opposite and began counting her gold. Anna rested her chin on her hands, watching with interest. 

“If you want to make a bet of that, I’ll take it!” 

“You’re on!” 

### 

“Lady Veronica, I bring the reports you requested.” 

In a private sitting room at the royal Emblian Castle, Veronica was taking tea with Prince Xander of Nohr. Various maids were at the ready with tea and ample plates of confectionary. One of her advisors had slid himself through the doorway and presented a group of papers.  
“We have several new candidates for our own ‘Heroes’, if you will. One in particular would serve as a wonderful replacement for Narcian. Another wyvern rider, and a General in his realm of marvellous ability. The scouts report he is much more driven than our Narcian was.” He handed the small bundle of notes to Veronica, each one detailing a different recruitment prospect. 

“Oh? What does this General call himself?” 

“According to our field notes, Valter, The Moonstone.” 

“Moonstone? Pretty name. Is he ferocious?” 

The attendant was almost giddy with glee with his answer. “Oh yes milady, terribly so.” 

Veronica smiled. “Wonderful! Have the arrangements made. Bring him and the rest to me. If those Askrian fools think they can steal my new friends so easily again, they’re sorely mistaken.” 

**Author's Note:**

> It's been so long since I posted something, thanks to college keeping me busy, but I finally have something for all of us. The very start to my Narcian/Kiran series I mentioned before~


End file.
